Good morning! 🌞 

Here’s a short poem to start your day 🙂 

Dreams

By Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

Health Sciences

Plant Medicine

A recent study found that a plant-derived compound can kill drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB).
This compound, sanguinarine, comes from bloodroot, a wildflower native to North America. It was modified to reduce its natural toxicity and showed effectiveness against dormant TB bacteria without harming the gut microbiome.

TB, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a major global health threat and has developed resistance to many treatments. Researchers at the University of British Columbia, led by Dr. Jim Sun, developed 35 derivatives of sanguinarine. Two of these, BPD9 and BPD6, inhibited over 90% of eight different TB strains, including drug-resistant ones. In mice, BPD9 significantly reduced TB bacteria in just 8 days.
While promising, further work is needed to make the treatment safer and test its effectiveness against more drug-resistant strains.

Culture

Copy of The Little Prince to Sell for $1.25M

A typescript of the children's story The Little Prince, one of the most translated books ever, will be sold for $1.25 million (£963,313). This typed copy was created by the author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, in New York while he was in exile from Nazi-occupied France in the 1940s. Only three copies are known to exist, and this one includes handwritten notes and sketches by the author. It will be available at the Abu Dhabi Art Festival in November.
Saint-Exupéry wrote Le Petit Prince in French while living in exile during World War II, and it was published in 1943. He was a seasoned aviator and returned to Europe for a reconnaissance mission with the Free French air force, disappearing during a flight over the Mediterranean.

The story follows a pilot stranded in the desert who meets a young boy, the Little Prince, visiting Earth. Since its release, the book has sold millions of copies globally. Saint-Exupéry's original manuscript is in New York, while the other two known typescripts are held in France's national library and the Harry Ransom Center in Texas. According to Sammy Jay, senior literature specialist at Peter Harrington Rare Books, the typescript being sold is the only one that wasn't inscribed or given to someone before Saint-Exupéry's disappearance. It has been in a private collection in France for decades.
Jay noted that Peter Harrington Rare Books has had the typescript since early 2024 and has been cataloguing and preparing it for sale. The cover shows signs of stubbed-out cigarettes, and it contains Saint-Exupéry's handwritten notes, annotations, and edits. One notable line in the text states, "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; the essential is invisible to the eye." Jay emphasized that this typescript is "much more intimate" than the others, highlighting the author’s personal notes and sketches, including a preliminary illustration of the Little Prince.

Jay described The Little Prince as part of a "global literary heritage" due to its widespread translation. There is potential for a museum or library outside Europe to purchase the typescript, which could signify its global significance.

World News

World’s Longest Suspension Bridge

After being discussed since the Roman Empire, Italy is preparing for a major engineering project: a suspension bridge linking Sicily with the mainland across the Messina Strait. If completed, it would be the longest in the world.

The project is set to begin in late 2024, revived by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has requested EU funding for the estimated €4.6 billion cost. The idea of connecting Sicily to the mainland has been proposed since Roman times, with various leaders, including Charlemagne and Mussolini, showing interest in its construction. The concept gained traction under former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who passed away earlier this year. In 2009, the EU approved the project, and a contract was awarded to the Messina Strait Company. However, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti canceled it during the European Sovereign Debt Crisis due to austerity measures.

The proposed bridge would feature both rail and road connections, with a central span of 1.8 miles (3 kilometers), surpassing Turkey's bridge over the Dardanelles. It would be part of the Berlin–Palermo railway axis within the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) Traveling to Sicily currently involves flying, boating, or taking a train on a ferry, which limits commerce and has led to economic stagnation on the island. Matteo Salvini, leader of the North League party, stated that constructing the bridge is a priority, as ferry transport is costly and inefficient. The bridge would facilitate direct transportation of goods, allowing imports from the Suez Canal to be offloaded in Sicily, reducing the need for lengthy sea voyages to northern ports. It would also relieve pressure on overcrowded ferry services.

However, building the Messina Strait Bridge presents significant challenges, particularly because it would be the longest in the world and is located in a seismically active area. Currently, firms from six countries are contracted for the project, including Japan's IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd. and Denmark's COWI A/S.

Mind Stretchers

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Yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:

‘Ready for anything’ Albert Knox got this correct first! 🌞 

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